Wilson Melendez picked up tree limbs and pushed leaves into piles along a Pasadena residential street Friday afternoon, the smell of smoke lingering in the air. Two days earlier, he evacuated with 10 family members ages 4 to 42 from the apartment they share in town.
They were allowed back into their home Friday morning after a night in a motel. Then, Melendez, a construction worker, headed to the Pasadena Community Job Center where he sometimes finds work, to give back to the city he loves.
“It’s where we raise our family,” he said in Spanish, and keeping it clean and safe is important.
On a typical day, the center, which is run by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) is a gathering spot for day laborers looking for jobs. But as fires continued to rage from Pacific Palisades to Altadena on Wednesday afternoon, workers and the nonprofit’s staff began talking about how they could help. They launched the fire relief brigade to help clean up local streets and put out a call for help on social media.
Hundreds of volunteers answered the call, gathering at the center on Lake Avenue to sweep up debris that had been strewn by fierce winds over streets and yards. Other volunteers set up in the job center’s parking lot to divide donations into care packages of food, toiletries, water and clothing. They also gave out first aid supplies, diapers and formula.
A fire relief brigade has organized to lead cleanup efforts during the ongoing crisis.
The effort attracted day laborers and others from across the region who just wanted to help.
On Friday, a line of cars snaked around the block waiting to drop off donations or pick up much-needed supplies. One woman who arrived lost her home in the Eaton fire. Her employer’s house had also burned down, said Pablo Alvarado, NDLON’s co-executive director. All she had were the clothes on her back.
“That’s how overwhelming this situation is,” said Alvarado, who was also evacuated with his wife from their Pasadena home.
Some volunteers have also lost everything, including their livelihood, said Loyda Alvarado, an NDLON organizer.
“All of that is happening and they still show up,” she said.
After natural disasters, whether they are hurricanes, floods or earthquakes, the first people in after police and fire departments are often day laborers from the migrant community who help with cleanup and rebuilding, Pablo Alvarado said.
“Some politicians say that we are thieves, we are criminals, that we poison the blood of this country,” said Manuel Vicente, the director of Radio Jornalera, the audiovisual arm of NDLON. “We respond to those attacks with love.”
Migrant volunteers worked this week amid news reports of widespread immigration sweeps in Kern County and false reports of immigration arrests in Los Angeles that had many on edge.
“It’s unbelievable that we are facing this situation and then on top of that we have to worry if the Migra is on the street,” Vicente said.
Melendez said he wasn’t worried about any of that, but at the moment was enjoying helping out his neighbors.
Construction worker Bernardo Pedro, 43, drove out from Echo Park to assist because he felt helping to keep the city safe was the most important thing and to “just share the love we have.”
Brenda Estrada, 33, of Alhambra and Lance Leon, 43, of Long Beach came to volunteer after searching for a way to be of service. Estrada grew up in Pasadena. She is a speech therapist, and families that she works with were affected by the fires.
“It’s literally the least we can do,” Estrada said after helping a resident clean up his front yard.
The amount of volunteers who showed up from all parts of Los Angeles heartened Loyda Alvarado, 43. She hopes that when the fires fade from the news volunteers continue to show up at the center, which has rallied volunteers before. During the pandemic, the center opened to help administer COVID tests and pass out food.
If the incoming U.S. president makes good on his promise to quickly launch mass deportations, it will soon be the day laborers who need support, she said.
“It’s beautiful to see youth and people of different races and backgrounds and social statuses working together here supporting each other, following the lead of the workers of the immigrant community that do this work all the time,” she added. “It gives us hope.”
Yvonne Condes is a freelance writer and contributing editor to Picturing Mexican America, a project that works to uncover the whitewashed history of Mexican Los Angeles. You can find her on Instagram: @yvonneinla.
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